Judge turns down FOIA for bin Laden burial records

Sep. 20, 2013 - 01:15PM
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WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge is siding with the Navy in its refusal to release some records about the 2011 burial at sea of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon this week turned down a bid by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, to get the records under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Navy provided some documents to Judicial Watch but included several blacked-out sections. Leon ruled that the redactions were “proper and necessary” to prevent disclosure of sensitive operational details and to protect national security.

The ruling comes four months after a federal appeals court turned down Judicial Watch’s appeal seeking photos and video taken during and after the raid that killed bin Laden.